Allen Stanford to be Moved to Detention Facility

Accused fraudster Allen Stanford will be moved to a federal detention facility in downtown Houston "by Thursday," his attorney told CNBC.

AP

Allen Stanford

A federal judge approved the move on Friday, before Stanford got into a fight with another inmate in the facility where he was being held, 40 miles north of Houston.

The fight landed Stanford in a hospital over the weekend with a broken nose. The move apparently is unrelated to the fight.

Stanford's attorneys have been asking for months that he be moved to the downtown Houston facility. They claimed conditions at the privately-run facility in Conroe, Texas, were "oppressive."

The judge in the case, David Hittner, previously denied the request. Now, however, Stanford is being represented by court-appointed attorneys paid by the taxpayers. His new legal team argued that the expense to the taxpayers of housing Stanford so far from his attorneys is unnecessary, and Hittner agreed.

In a ruling issued Friday, Hittner writes that "because of the unique circumstances present in this case," it is appropriate to move Stanford to Houston "to ensure an adequate opportunity for Stanford to review the copious documents, consult his attorneys and prepare his defense."

The order gave federal marshals until Thursday to move Stanford. A federal Bureau of Prisons web site listed Stanford as "in transit" as of Tuesday morning.

Stanford has been in custody since his indictment June 18 on 21 criminal counts in an alleged $8 billion Ponzi scheme. Hittner has denied Stanford's request for bail, ruling that Stanford is a flight risk.